Construction Continues Despite December Deadlines

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The start of the holiday season and the last week of November isn't stopping construction crews from keeping their equipment on and moving.

At the site of the future Harrison Lofts on Harrison Street and 14th Street, crews are digging up dirt. The $10.4 million, 60-unit development is changing the climate of Hilltop Campus Village.

“This part of Davenport has never seen that level of private sector investment," says Program Director of Hilltop Campus Village, Scott Tunnicliff. "We're hoping it will be a stimulus or a catalyst for additional investment."

But while most crews spend November finishing their projects, this one is just getting started.

"They're banking on having some good weather for construction to be able to get some of the stuff at least out of the way to build the foundation and if they have enough time - the walls - so they can do some interior work.”

The tires are turning everywhere in Davenport. From a project just beginning... to one that seems like it will never end on River Drive.

"This has been a very busy construction season," says Michael Clarke, Director of Davenport's Public Works Department.

“In the past, we have had more of a delineation between winter and fall," says Clarke. "Given last year and the uncertainty of the future, we’re going to be working more closely with the contractors to allow them to take advantage of better weather conditions during the winter months."

Better weather means moving forward faster. Workers are doing what they can now before the snow starts falling... whenever that may be.

“If we don’t have to shut down over the winter, then we don’t have to have a detour in place," says Clarke. "We don’t have the degradation of the project site through the winter months, the contractor doesn’t have to come back and restore quite as much and the driving public does not have to deal with that hassle so if we can work our way through it and get it done, it's just better for everybody. We have one 'wild card' out there and it's winter... When is it going to be here and what is it going to look like?"

Both the Harrison Lofts and River Drive are "winter over" projects, meaning they will pick back up in the spring once crews do have to pack up for winter.

However, all four lanes of River Drive will be open during that time and then crews will finish everything up in the spring. The Harrison Lofts are targeted to be complete by next fall.